American Soldier
by Colonel Arbuckle
Summary: In honor of Patriot Day, Balto serves as an American airman.


**Author's Note: This is a songfic based on the Toby Keith song, American Soldier. The story is set shortly after 9/11 and all of the characters are humans. Captain Balto "Iceman" Wolfe, USAF is an F-15 pilot assigned to the 19****th**** Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, AK and is about to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is originally from Nome, AK and he met his wife, Jenna Wolfe, at the University of Alaska, Anchorage in the late '80s when her father, John "Steele" Ogonkowski was flying for Alaska Airlines out of Anchorage. Steele was picked up by American Airlines in the mid '90s to fly Boeing 757s and 767s out of Boston Logan. Capt. and Mrs. Wolfe have two children, fraternal twins named Kodiak, or Kodi for short, and Aleu. They are eight years old. The commander of the 19****th**** Fighter Squadron is Lt. Col. Boris "Goose" Goosinov, and Balto's wingmen are Capt. Kaltag "Maverick" Turner, 1****st**** Lt. Peter "Star" Kazanski, and 2****nd**** Lt. Nikki "Frenchy" L'Heureux. Dates and times will be underlined and song lyrics will be italicized.**

0630 Alaska Daylight Time, 1Oct01

Capt. Balto Wolfe turned the knob and walked in the door of his son's bedroom. He watched as his son's stomach rose and fell peacefully with each breath. Normally he would be waking his son up to get ready for school, but not today.

"Kodi, it's time to get up," Balto said, gently shaking his son awake.

"Mmm, yeah I'm up," Kodi muttered as his eyes slowly opened to the tan of his father's desert flight suit. Satisfied that his son was not going to go back to sleep, Balto turned to wake Aleu.

_I'm just trying to be a father_

_Raise a daughter and a son_

A few minutes later, Balto walked into the kitchen where Jenna handed him a cup of coffee. They sat in silence for a few minutes waiting for the kids to come down stairs.

"Are you doing okay?" Balto finally asked. The events of three weeks ago had taken a tremendous emotional toll on Jenna, and Balto had become her de facto counselor.

_Be a lover to their mother_

_Everything to everyone_

"Yeah, I'm okay. I spoke with Chaplain Wood after the service yesterday and I think that really helped. It's tough, but I'm finally starting to accept that he's really gone. How about you? I noticed that you were already up and dressed by four this morning. Are you nervous?"

_Up and at 'em, bright and early_

_I'm all business in my suit_

_Yeah, I'm dressed up for success_

_From my head down to my boots_

"I'm fine, yeah, it's just nerves. No matter how many times I deploy, I still get a little nervous. I just got up early to pray a little and read some out of the Word."

The conversation ended there as Kodi and Aleu came down for breakfast and Balto went to go put his last few pieces of luggage in the car.

0700 Alaska Daylight Time, 1Oct01

The family walked out of the house and piled into Jenna's Ford Explorer. Balto put the key in the ignition and started the truck. As he put it in gear, he briefly looked at the house, knowing that this would be the last he would see of it for some time. He backed out of the driveway, shifted into drive, and began heading down the road toward the base.

_I don't do it for the money_

_There's bills that I can't pay_

"The paper called yesterday," Jenna told him. "They wanted to run a piece on you as someone who was personally affected and going off to fight. They know you're leaving today, but they want to do the interview by phone while you're over there."

Balto groaned. "I won't have time for that, I have work to do."

"That's what I told them. They seemed to understand," Jenna replied. Balto sighed in relief.

_I don't do it for the glory_

_I just do it anyway_

_Providing for our future's my responsibility_

_Yeah I'm real good under pressure_

_Being all that I can be_

After a few minutes of silence, Aleu asked, "How long will you be gone, Papa?"

"About four months, Aleu," Balto replied.

"You won't be home for Christmas?" Aleu asked, a little upset.

"I might be able to come home just for Christmas Day, but I can't make any promises."

_And I can't call in sick on Mondays_

_When the weekends been too strong_

_I just work straight through the holidays_

_And sometimes all night long_

Balto knew that his career was sometimes rough on his family, but he knew they would be okay. They had been through this before, about two years ago. In the summer of '99 he had stared down death in the skies over Kosovo, when several SAMs had tracked him and his wingmen. That deployment had been four months as well, and it had taken its toll on Jenna.

_You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door_

_Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey, I'm true down to the core_

Jenna had needed Balto's steady comfort on the morning of the attacks, when she heard the awful news.

Flashback to 0455 Alaska Daylight Time, 11Sep01

Jenna was just beginning to wake up as Balto was already up and getting ready for a normal work day. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"I've got it, honey," Jenna called to Balto as she picked up the bedside receiver. "Hello?"

"Jenna, do you have your TV on?" a frantic Dixie asked her sister.

"It's five in the morning out here Dixie, no I don't have the TV on." Dixie lived near Jenna's and her parents in Boston and was sometimes neglectful of these details.

"Turn on Fox News right now, Jenna, there was an explosion at the World Trade Center. I'm going to call Mom now, Dad's flying Flight 11 today, but I just thought you should know. Something doesn't feel right about this."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. Bye, Dixie," Jenna replied as she turned on the bedroom TV and hung up the phone. The sight that met her eyes shocked her. Smoke poured from the tower as the anchor, Jon Scott, relayed the events of the morning. "Balto, get in here," Jenna called towards the master bathroom. The couple watched in stunned silence for a few minutes until, at 0503, as Jon Scott was interviewing a guest and they watched the North Tower burn, they witnessed the unthinkable.

"I am reminded of a couple of things that happened recently, Dr. Gross, not long ago, just a couple of, within the past couple of weeks in fact, there was a pilot who flew… there was another one! We just saw… we just saw another one! We just saw another one apparently go… another plane just flew into the second tower. This raises, this has to be deliberate folks. We just saw on live television as a second plane flew into the second tower of the World Trade Center. Now, given what has been going on around the world, um, some of the, some of the key suspects come to mind, Osama bin Laden, who knows, who knows what." Jenna and Balto were stunned, their mouths hanging open. The ringing phone suddenly startled them. Balto slowly moved toward and picked up the phone.

"Hello? Yes, I have it on, sir. Did you see the second one sir? No, sir, I've never seen anything like it. Yes, sir. I can be there in an hour. Good morning, sir." Balto hung up the phone and turned to Jenna. "I have to go. That was Goose. We've just gotten a mission to set up a Combat Air Patrol over Seattle. I may have to stay on base for a few days, so I might not be home tonight."

"Okay, honey. Stay safe. I mean it. Something is seriously wrong here."

"Of course, honey. Always."

Jenna continued to watch as news came in bits and pieces, talk of hijackings, an explosion at the Pentagon, speculation of type of aircraft and airline of the two airplanes, and then reports of U.S. Air Force fighters patrolling the skies of New York City and D.C. Finally, at 0629, as the second tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, Jon Scott said the words that would change her life forever: "According to American Airlines, American Airlines is confirming that it's Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles was hijacked today, and that it's plane was the first one involved in this attack on the World Trade Center." Her father, Captain Steele Ogonkowski was dead at the age of 50. Jenna began to weep bitterly.

0710 Alaska Daylight Time, 1Oct01

Jenna was beginning to tear up again.

"Your father used to be an Air Force officer. He was ready to pay the price," Balto tried to calm his wife.

_And I will always do my duty no matter what the price_

_I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice_

_Oh, and I don't want to die for you_

_But if dyin's asked of me_

_I'll bear that cross with honor_

_'Cause freedom don't come free_

"I know, I just wish I had been ready," Jenna replied. They drove the rest of the way to the base in silence.

_I'm an American soldier, an American_

_Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand_

_When Liberty's in jeopardy, I will always do what's right_

_I'm out here on the front line_

_Sleep in peace tonight_

_American soldier, I'm an American soldier_

0725 Alaska Daylight Time, 1Oct01

The Explorer pulled into the parking lot at the 19th Fighter Squadron.

"Here, take this," Jenna handed a folded piece of paper to Balto as he got out of the truck.

"What's this?" Balto asked as he began to unfold it.

"A reminder of Who's watching over you," Jenna replied.

"Lord, guard and guide the men who fly," Balto read the first line with a slight smile. It was the Air Force hymn. He smiled as he tucked it into the chest pocket of his flight suit. "Thank you."

_Yeah, an American soldier, an American_

_Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand_

He kissed Jenna, hugged his kids, grabbed his deployment bag, and walked into the squadron. Jenna drove the truck around to the approach end of Runway 34 as planned. About 30 minutes later, the flight of four F-15s taxied to the runway threshold.

_When Liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right_

_I'm out here on the front line_

_So Sleep in peace tonight_

Balto waved to his family, and then the roar of eight afterburners pierced the morning air as the Eagles raced down the runway and into the air. Jenna and the kids watched until the flight was only a speck in the distance. They turned to get in the truck and drove back to the house. Such was the life of the family of the American Soldier.

_American soldier, I'm an American_

_An American, an American soldier_

**Author's Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I should note that the quotes of Jon Scott were from the actual Fox News broadcast on the morning of the attacks. You can see the Fox News coverage from that morning on Youtube /playlist?list=PL3E8B2399764ABE7D**

**Also, Captain John Ogonkowski was the actual Captain of American 11 on 9/11. I gave him the nickname "Steele", but other than that, he was the captain of that flight. You can learn more about him and the other victims of 9/11 at legacy dot com slash sept11 slash Home dot aspx May God bless you all, may God bless our troops in the continued fight against radical Islam, and may God Bless America.**


End file.
